Column types
A custom column has a name and one of eight types, chosen once when you create it. The type decides what the column stores and which input the item detail panel shows for it.
The column-type picker.
What it does, and where the data comes from
Adding a column opens the column manager, where you name it and pick one of the eight types below. Every column value is stored per row as a plain string, keyed to the column — the type only changes how that string is presented and edited in the item detail panel; it isn't a schema migration, so you can create and remove columns freely.
The eight types
Text
A single-line free-text field. Use it for anything that doesn't fit a more specific type — a ticket reference, a short note, a code snippet. No format is enforced.
Status
A dropdown backed by a fixed set of labeled, colored options you define when creating the column (an options list plus a color per option). Use it for a second status-like dimension on a row — for example a review stage or a QA gate — separate from the board's own Status column.
Date
A native date picker. Use it for any date that isn't already covered by the board's built-in Start date, End date, or Due date columns — a follow-up date, a renewal date, and so on.
Number
A numeric input. Use it for counts, estimates, or any value you want represented as a number rather than free text — no formatting or currency symbol is applied.
Checkbox
A single boolean toggle, stored as the strings "true"/"false". Use it for a yes/no flag — reviewed, blocked-by-legal, needs follow-up.
Dropdown
Functionally identical to Status — a single-select list of labeled, colored options you define — but without the status connotation. Use it when the options represent a category rather than a workflow stage: a tier, a risk level, a team.
Person
Labeled as a person picker in the column-type list, so use it for a name — a reviewer, a stakeholder, a secondary contact. Under the hood it currently renders as the same plain text field as Text in the item detail panel; there's no autocomplete against board owners the way the built-in Owner field has.
Link
Labeled for URLs — a design doc, an external ticket, a runbook. Under the hood it also renders as a plain text field today; the value isn't rendered as a clickable hyperlink in the item detail panel, so paste the full URL and open it from wherever you copy it.
Which type to pick
| You need to store | Use |
|---|---|
| A short note or reference | Text |
| A second workflow-style stage | Status |
| Any date not already built in | Date |
| A count or estimate | Number |
| A yes/no flag | Checkbox |
| A category that isn't a workflow stage | Dropdown |
| A name | Person |
| A URL | Link |
If it looks wrong
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Status/Dropdown column has no options to pick | No options were configured when the column was created | Recreate the column with the options you need — options aren't editable after creation from this panel |
| Link column text isn't clickable | Link renders as plain text today | Copy the URL out and open it manually |
| Can't change a column's type after creating it | Type is fixed at creation | Add a new column with the right type and migrate the values you need |
Related
- System fields vs the columns you add — where custom columns sit in the grid.
- The item panel: detail, comments and files — where you edit a column's value.
- Board templates — templates that pre-create specific columns for you.
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